Adding Some Flair

A couple weeks ago I started a little DIY project for Nolan's room: another fabric ribbon garland. I made one to use as decor for his baby shower and ended up hanging it above his dresser because I liked it so much. So it was a no-brainer that I would make another one to hang above his crib. Now that he's sleeping in his crib full time (FINALLY!) I figured it was time to finish that part of the room that I hadn't yet gotten to. I found fabric scraps to coordinate with his crib bedding and made it longer than the first garland so that I could drape it more. I'm not totally sold on the way I hung it but I'm leaving it because every time I see it I like it more; I can always re-hang it if I change my mind. It looks great with the rest of the room and it was a fun and simple project.

STEP 1: Pick out fabric.

STEP 2: Cut fabric into strips and arrange in order of design preference.

STEP 3: Tie strips onto twine until desired length is reached.

STEP 4: Hang!

Sick Again

Little man has been hit with illness again. This time it's a little more serious though - pneumonia. Poor Nolan. I feel so bad that his body is having to go through this, and at such a young age. Mallory got pneumonia but she was almost two years old. Fortunately he still is in good spirits and as smiley as before. And of course, getting more and more curious by the day!

My Own Mini Session

The kids and I went for a walk this morning over to a nearby duck pond to say hello to the duckies. We didn't have any bread for them so they didn't stick around for very long. Next time we'll come better prepared. Though I thought I remember hearing once that you shouldn't feed birds bread because it can cause their bellies to get too big, but who listens to that kind of stuff. We're all guilty of eating things we shouldn't!

I took advantage of the beautiful lighting while we were outside and took some photos of the kids. Since we can't afford to get professional ones done all the time, I need to get out there and do it myself. I love the way that these turned out. Toot! Toot! - that's me tooting my own horn on this one.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Mallory thinks it's hilarious when Nolan puts his feet in his mouth - she never did that as an infant. So when he was doing it this morning on our bed while I was getting ready, Mal jumped up and tried to perform the trick as well. She had a harder time flexing enough to get her foot in her mouth, but after a lot of laughs and help from mom with stretching she was finally able to copy her brother. Such a proud mother I am of their skills!

Nolan: Five Months

This post will be short because I don't have much time left before the monsters awake from their slumber. With my sleep and energy being thrown off my to-do list has been taking a hit. And even though sometimes it feels like things are piling up because I hit the pause button, I know that it's more important that at this time I do what I need to do. Everything else can wait and will still be there when I'm ready.

The hardest part of this past month with Nolan has been the sleepless nights. So this past weekend sleep training him became my #1 priority. Selfishly I want to do it because I am so incredibly tired and crave continuous sleep so bad, but also because I could tell that even he wasn't getting enough sleep. When he didn't sleep well his mood the next day was noticeably different; just not his normal, happy self. So if I have to teach this kid the importance of sleep the hard way, that's what I will do.

He's completely over being swaddled but he still likes his fleece blankets. Now that he has the ability to move around freely in his crib, he's taken to sleeping on his tummy. It's also how he usually passes out from a "crying it out" session. His panda bear Glow Buddy accompanies him to bed now. Not only does its tummy glow but it plays lullabies so it helps lull him to sleep. He's gotten very good at rolling over and will roly poly his way around, especially if there's something he sees and wants. Anything he gets his hands on go straight into his mouth no matter what. He'll even try to steal it out of your hands if he's close enough. And if it's food, you have to be even more careful that he doesn't swipe it. He has become much more interested in food as of late. When I hold him and eat, he'll lean his nose into my mouth as if though he's trying to smell it while I chew. I've let him suck on an apple slice and he just goes to town like it's the best thing on earth; drooling and slurping all over my hand as I hold it for him.

He's mastered laughing but has this short chuckle that he decides to do more often. Almost a lazy laugh that reminds me of that stupid MTV show Beavis and Butt-head. It's not cute on the television show but Nolan seems to turn it into adorable. Everything babies do is cute, who are we kidding! It's also super cute when he won't stop jumping in your lap as you're trying to hold him. He's definitely getting good use out of the Einstein Jumper and his new doorway jumper that his auntie Sasha got him for Christmas. He's an active kid for sure and I'm already seeing glimpses of how he's going to give me a run for my money. I can't even tell you how many times already I've had to run and leap to catch him from falling off of things. A "think later" kind of kid. Keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!

Report Card

We've been "crying it out" the past two nights now. Nolan doesn't seem to be taking to my change in the nighttime customer service very well. And even as tired as he gets, he still will fight it. If only kids could learn the value of sleep at an earlier age; we would all win that way. There would be a whole lot less crying that's for sure.

Thankfully Mallory has been able to sleep through most of it. She woke up once last night but went straight back to sleep after I tucked her in again. I wish my ears could tune out Nolan's cries that well. Even with the baby monitor sound off and the sound machine on I could still hear him - mother's ears I guess. Crazy too because now I swear all I hear is the faint cry of my son. Even when he's right in front of me.

Here's a snapshot of little man when I checked on him this morning. I saw him flailing around throughout the night so it doesn't surprise me he ended up like this. I'm sure he put up a good fight, but it looks like the crib bumper won.

This Guy

He is such a lovable thing. But not at night. At night he becomes my worst nightmare. The reason for the awful sleep deprivation that I have been experiencing for the past few weeks. He's been getting up almost every hour, requiring my attention of some sorts. He's also back to eating twice at night again. It's been rough to say the least. I loathe this part of infancy. I'm like any other person out there, who truly enjoys getting a good night's rest. So when I don't night after night after night with no known end in sight, it's no wonder people go crazy from lack of sleep.

The transition to his crib isn't going well either. He seems to like the Rock n Sleep or the guest bed better. Not enough to sleep continuously, but a bit better than when he's in the crib. However, he's almost falling out of the Rock n Sleep because he's getting too long for it so that option is quickly becoming extinct. And I don't like him in the bed because well, that means he's co-sleeping with me and that's something that I swore to myself I didn't want to do. I was able to stick to my rule with Mallory but I'll tell ya, with as tired as I am I'm willing to try whatever gets my kid to sleep.

This weekend I'm trying something else to see if it helps get this little man to sleep more. I'm no longer going to sleep in the bedroom with him and he's going to need to cry it out a bit more when he wakes up and it's not time to feed. My biggest concern with letting him cry is obviously waking up Mallory. Then I have both kids awake. But I won't know until I try and who knows, she might sleep through it anyway. I figure at this point I can't get any less sleep so it's worth a shot to see if things get better. One of these days this dude is going to surprise me and sleep through the night. For now though I would totally settle for letting me get at least a few hours of continuous sleep in. Just sayin.

Mike Wazowski

The real little, green guy may be funnier but this one is WAY cuter!

Sister photobombing

Happy New Year!

The end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 was a rough one for the Jenkins family. With the exception of Nolan thus far (and I'm praying it remains that way), we were all hit with a 24-hour stomach flu. It started with Mallory, two days later it was Jody, and two days later it was me. No bueno for sure. Thankfully today we all seem to be feeling well and on the mend. Let's hope the rest of the year isn't going to kick us in the pants so hard. Happy New Year everyone!